Not sure if this was already covered, however a private developer has proposed a new ballpark for the Rays in northern St. Pete at the Carillon business park. Pretty cool design that offers multiple cost models depending on whether the roof and transparent wall are retractable or not.

We get the Tampa Tribune daily and it seems like everyday there is an article about a new ballpark. To me both St. Pete and the owners of the Rays are playing hardball. St Pete wants the new ballpark to be in the Pinellas county area while the Rays want to explore the whole area and mainly downtown Tampa.
The Carillon location to me would be a good fit. It's right off I-275 near the Howard-Franklin bridge and not that far from the Gandy bridge and a lot closer to Downtown Tampa than the Trop, so the Tampa people would not have that long of a drive. Fans in Clearwater and up to Dunedin and Tarpon Springs would not have that long of a drive either. If you build it in Downtown Tampa then the fans in southern Pinellas county and St. Pete would not be happy campers.
If you look at the map the proposed new park would be just off I 275 just south and west of the Bay and a little northwest of the bridge. Just a little north of the sign for route 686. As you can see it's not that far from downtown Tampa. It would be about 15 miles north of the Trop which I think fans in Tampa could live with.

PS: People who live in the Tampa Bay area should never complain about traffic, they should visit L A, Chicago and NYC and see what real traffic is like.

PSS: I love the Tampa Bay area and if I were to move to a large city, the TB area would be it.

__________________Coming up to bat for our White Sox is the Mighty Mite, Nelson Fox.

As a resident of New England who winters in Florida, I am amazed when Tampa and traffic concerns are mentioned. Tampa traffic is a minor inconvenience. People in Boston who drive can expect an hour commute to get from north to south or vice versa. I have driven through Tampa mornings, mid-day and evenings and their traffic would be equal to mid-size New England cities like Worcester or Providence i.e 20 minutes from one side of town to another.
tampa's problem is that there are so many transplants from the north or due to military obligations that their fan base is just limited. So when they reveal population numbers within x miles of a location, a high percentage are seniors many of whom come from somewhere else and have a limited interest in the Rays. I am an avid baseball fan and I enjoy going to Rays games even if it is not seeing the White Sox. But I rarely ever hear of my neighbors going because none are native Floridians.
So any population studies needs some reducing factor to account for the myriad of 55 and over residences which are mostly occupied by transplants.

It's not as cool looking as the sailboat design that was previously proposed.

One thing about the new design that I like is the fact that they incorporate exterior buildings/structures into the design. It gives it a rustic, old neighborhood feel.

There have been some "official" letters exchanged between the Rays ownership and the Mayor's office in St. Pete. The mayor is willing to let the Rays explore other sites within Pinellas county, however as mentioned, the Rays owners want to explore all areas in the Tampa Bay area.

We get the Tampa Tribune daily and it seems like everyday there is an article about a new ballpark. To me both St. Pete and the owners of the Rays are playing hardball. St Pete wants the new ballpark to be in the Pinellas county area while the Rays want to explore the whole area and mainly downtown Tampa.
The Carillon location to me would be a good fit. It's right off I-275 near the Howard-Franklin bridge and not that far from the Gandy bridge and a lot closer to Downtown Tampa than the Trop, so the Tampa people would not have that long of a drive. Fans in Clearwater and up to Dunedin and Tarpon Springs would not have that long of a drive either. If you build it in Downtown Tampa then the fans in southern Pinellas county and St. Pete would not be happy campers.
If you look at the map the proposed new park would be just off I 255 just south and west of the Bay and a little north of the bridge. As you can see it's not that far from downtown Tampa. It would be about 15 miles north of the Trop which I think fans in Tampa could live with.

One of the big selling points of this design/location is that the ballpark will serve as a "bridge" between the two counties providing a visual destination from the Tampa side of the bay. The artist rendition offers an "Emerald City" type of proposal.